The Old Man | |
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Genre | |
Created by |
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Based on | The Old Man by Thomas Perry |
Starring | |
Composers | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 7 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Judd Rea |
Running time | 47–64 minutes |
Production companies |
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Release | |
Original network | FX |
Original release | June 16, 2022 present | –
The Old Man is an American drama thriller television series based on the 2017 novel The Old Man by Thomas Perry. It was developed by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine and premiered on FX on June 16, 2022.[2] The first season consists of seven episodes.[3] Following its premiere, the series was renewed for a second season.[4]
Dan Chase (Jeff Bridges) is a former CIA operative and Vietnam veteran who has been living off-the-grid in Vermont for thirty years. After killing an intruder who breaks into his home, Chase goes into hiding. He rents a room from Zoe McDonald (Amy Brenneman), who becomes his forced partner while on the run.
FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Harold Harper (John Lithgow) is called to apprehend Chase because of their complicated past during the Soviet–Afghan War. Working alongside Harper are his protégés: FBI agent Angela Adams (Alia Shawkat); CIA officer Raymond Waters (E. J. Bonilla); and Julian Carson (Gbenga Akinnagbe), a hit-man hired by Harper to kill Chase.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "I" | Jon Watts | Teleplay by : Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robert Levine | June 16, 2022 | 1CLE01 | 0.975[5] |
2 | "II" | Jon Watts | Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robert Levine | June 16, 2022 | 1CLE02 | 0.643[5] |
3 | "III" | Greg Yaitanes | Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robert Levine | June 23, 2022 | 1CLE03 | 0.821[6] |
4 | "IV" | Greg Yaitanes | Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robert Levine | June 30, 2022 | 1CLE04 | 0.904[7] |
5 | "V" | Zetna Fuentes | Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robert Levine | July 7, 2022 | 1CLE05 | 1.076[8] |
6 | "VI" | Jet Wilkinson | Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robert Levine | July 14, 2022 | 1CLE06 | 0.769[9] |
7 | "VII" | Jet Wilkinson | Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robert Levine | July 21, 2022 | 1CLE07 | 0.773[10] |
The series was announced in July 2019, with FX ordering a pilot with Jeff Bridges cast to star.[11] In September, Jon Watts was set to direct the pilot and be an executive producer, with John Lithgow and Amy Brenneman added to the cast.[12][13] Alia Shawkat joined in October.[14] In November, Bob Iger announced that the show would air on FX on Hulu, and Austin Stowell was added to play a younger version of Chase.[15][16] In February 2020, Kenneth Mitchell disclosed he had a role in the series.[17] Stowell would be recast in March 2020 with Bill Heck, and Gbenga Akinnagbe, Leem Lubany, and E. J. Bonilla were cast in main roles.[18] Navid Negahban and Pej Vahdat were cast in recurring roles in December 2020.[19]
Shooting the series was two-thirds complete when production shut down in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] Production resumed in late 2020 with three episodes remaining to film,[20] but was soon halted when Bridges was diagnosed with lymphoma in October 2020 and departed for cancer treatment.[21] The show stayed in production for a short period after his diagnosis to shoot scenes from the remaining episodes that do not feature his character.[20] In September 2021, he announced his cancer was in remission. Production ultimately resumed in February 2022.[22] On June 27, 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.[4] In May 2023, it was reported that filming of the second season was suspended due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.[23]
The series premiered on June 16, 2022, on FX in the United States and Canada.[24][2] It was also premiered on Disney+ (Star) on July 13, 2022, in Australia and New Zealand and Star+ in Latin America.[25]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 97% approval rating with an average rating of 7.4/10, based on 59 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The Old Man is just as intrepid and spiky—and derivative—as younger action heroes, with Jeff Bridges lending invaluable gravitas to this bone-crunching thriller."[26] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[27]
No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "I" | June 16, 2022 | 0.11 | 0.975[5] |
2 | "II" | June 16, 2022 | 0.08 | 0.643[5] |
3 | "III" | June 23, 2022 | 0.09 | 0.821[6] |
4 | "IV" | June 30, 2022 | 0.14 | 0.904[7] |
5 | "V" | July 7, 2022 | 0.12 | 1.076[8] |
6 | "VI" | July 14, 2022 | 0.10 | 0.769[9] |
7 | "VII" | July 21, 2022 | 0.12 | 0.773[10] |
According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, The Old Man was the most watched program across all platforms, during the week of June 24, 2022,[28][29] the week of June 29, 2022,[30] and the week of July 2, 2022.[31] According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, it was the most streamed television series across all platforms in the United States, between June 1, 2022, and 30, 2022,[32] and during the week ending July 3, 2022,[33] and the third during the week ending July 17, 2022.[34]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2022 | Australian Cinematographers Society Awards | Telefeatures, TV Dramas & Mini Series | Jules O'Loughlin | Won | [35] |
2023 | Golden Globes Awards | Best Actor in a Drama Series | Jeff Bridges | Nominated | [36] |
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical/Comedy or Drama Series | John Lithgow | Nominated | |||
Critics Choice Awards | Best Actor in a Drama Series | Jeff Bridges | Nominated | [37] | |
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | John Lithgow | Nominated | |||
Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Actor in a Drama Series | Jeff Bridges | Nominated | [38] | |
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series | John Lithgow | Nominated | |||
Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Miniseries, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Jeff Bridges | Nominated | [39][40] | |
Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | John Lithgow | Won | |||
Best Miniseries and Limited Series | The Old Man | Nominated | |||
AARP Movies for Grownups Awards | Best Actor - Television | Jeff Bridges | Won | [41][42] | |
Best Television Series | The Old Man | Won | |||
American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Episode of a One-Hour Television Series – Commercial | Jules O'Loughlin | Won | [43][44] | |
Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode | Erik Henry, Matt Robken, Jamie Klein, Sylvain Theroux, J.D. Streett | Nominated | [45] | |
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Jeff Bridges | Pending | [46] |